ETERNAL

The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own. Refile to remove hyperlink in Context News.

By Shritama Bose, Ujjaini Dutta

MUMBAI/BENGALURU, June 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The hottest corner of India's e-commerce market is running on fumes. Nexus Venture Partners-backed Zepto, the money-losing startup that delivers everything from onions to speakers in 10 minutes, is deferring plans to go public by a year as it struggles to cut costs, news website Moneycontrol reported last week. Rival offerings from Eternal ETEA.NS, formerly Zomato, and Swiggy SWIG.NS are bleeding cash too. The sensible - and likely - next move for all three would be to stop offering ultra-quick deliveries at all.

The combination of densely populated cities like Mumbai and New Delhi plus abundant cheap labour made it look possible that India could pull off a delivery model that has failed elsewhere, and spawned an industry Bernstein estimates is worth $10 billion. As the top player in the space with a 43% share by monthly active users, Zepto looked like a winner. Its valuation nearly quadrupled to $5 billion in the 12 months to August 2024.

Almost a year on, the euphoria looks hard to sustain. Adjusted EBITDA losses at Swiggy's Instamart and Eternal's Blinkit widened in the first three months of this year due to an aggressive expansion of so-called dark stores that also act as mini-warehouses. More spending is underway: HSBC expects Zepto to increase its dark stores by 18% to 1,000. Competition is intensifying too: Tata group-backed BigBasket is entering the 10-minute food delivery space, going up against Blinkit's Bistro and Zepto's Cafe, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

It's not clear if and when 10-minute deliveries can turn a sustainable profit. At least Swiggy and Eternal have other businesses to cushion the blow. But for Zepto, which will struggle to replicate its model beyond big cities, the pressure to stem its losses is mounting. Founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra are eyeing the high-yield loan market and say the company will be close to breaking even on EBITDA and operating cash flow in three months.

Meanwhile, public market investors are pickier. Electric-scooter maker Ather Energy ATHR.NS and Brookfield-backed luxury hotel chain Schloss Bangalore SCHL.NS had weak trading debuts despite downsized offers. Investors' patience with unprofitable startups is running thin after Ola Electric Mobility's OLAE.NS disastrous run since its August listing. Shares of Eternal and Swiggy are down by up to a third this year, while the benchmark Nifty 50 Index .NSEI has risen.

All this should be enough to prompt a serious rethink of whether it's worth trying to deliver someone an onion, or anything else, in under 10 minutes.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X and Ujjaini Dutta on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

Tata group-backed grocery delivery service BigBasket plans to launch 10-minute food delivery services by the end of March 2026, co-founder Vipul Parekh told Reuters on June 10.

Online quick commerce startup Zepto has pushed back its plan to go public in India by a year to 2026, news website Moneycontrol reported on June 4, citing unnamed people aware of the development.

(Editing by Robyn Mak; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the authors, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/[email protected]; DUTTA/[email protected]))

Corrects to add source in headline

June 9 (Reuters) - Rapido is entering the food delivery segment with a new platform that charges restaurants a fixed fee, a document seen by Reuters showed on Monday, as the Indian ride-hailing platform looks to compete with Swiggy SWIG.NS and Eternal's ETEA.NS Zomato.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai and Haripriya Suresh; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

** India's Eternal ETEA.NS climbs 2.7%, reversing from a 5.4% decline at the open

** Operator of Zomato food delivery and Blinkit quick commerce platforms posts 78% slump in Q4 profit and warns of intense competition

** But analysts say results were better than feared

** Jefferies says "Concerns were running high on Q4 in context of heightened competitive activity in quick commerce, but outcome" noting contained EBITDA loss, GOV growth

** Elara Securities says Blinkit has held market leadership and its losses are lesser than rivals Swiggy SWIG.NS Instamart and Zepto, "which seems to appeal investors"

** Nomura says Eternal is "well positioned to weather the competition"

** SWIG to report its quarterly results next week

** Avg rating on ETEA and SWIG at "buy", LSEG data

** ETEA drops 14.4% YTD vs SWIG's 42.5% slump

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

May 1 (Reuters) - Eternal Ltd ETEA.NS:

• ETERNAL Q4 CONSOL NET PROFIT 390 MILLION RUPEES

• ETERNAL Q4 CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 58.33 BILLION RUPEES

Further company coverage: ETEA.NS

(([email protected];))

April 18 (Reuters) - Eternal Ltd ETEA.NS:

• APPROVES CAP ON FOREIGN OWNERSHIP UP TO 49.50%

Source text: ID:nBSE38R5YM

Further company coverage: ETEA.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of Eternal (formerly Zomato) ETEA.NS gain as much as 5.3% to a nearly one-month high of 233.85 rupees; last up 2.4%

** ETEA top percentage gainer on the benchmark Nifty 50 index .NSEI, which is up 1.8%

** About 1.4 million shares of the quick commerce firm changed hands in five block deals, data compiled by LSEG shows

** Block deals in price range of 225.10 rupees to 230.55 rupees, compared to last closing price of 222.08 rupees

** Stock up 2.3% so far this week; on track to log third straight week of gains

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

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April 15 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd BRTI.NS:

• AIRTEL PARTNERS WITH BLINKIT

• BLINKIT PARTNERSHIP FOR DELIVERY OF SIM CARDS TO ITS CUSTOMERS WITHIN TEN MINUTES

Further company coverage: BRTI.NSETEA.NS

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By Praveen Paramasivam

April 4 (Reuters) - India's commerce minister said his country's startups needed to emulate China by focusing on high-end tech and not quick grocery deliveries or fancy ice cream - harsh criticism that had entrepreneurs quickly pointing out the government's shortcomings.

Piyush Goyal told a startup event in New Delhi late on Thursday that too many were offering food delivery so that "the rich can get their meals without moving out of their house" and were "turning unemployed youth into cheap labour."

"Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls? (Making) fancy ice cream and cookies ... is that the destiny of India?" he said, showing a slide titled "India vs. China. The Startup Reality Check".

He didn't name companies but his speech was seen as an apparent attack on quick commerce businesses like Zomato ZOMT.NS, Swiggy and Zepto that deliver food and groceries in as little as 10 minutes.

"What do the Chinese startups do? Work on developing electric mobility, battery technology ... look at what the other side is doing - robotics, automation, machine learning, preparing themselves for 3D manufacturing," Goyal said.

His comments prompted hundreds of posts on social media from startup founders and venture capitalists, taking the government to the task for failing to create high-quality infrastructure and jobs and not doing enough to support entrepreneurs.

"The government (needs) to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams," Zepto co-founder Aadit Palicha retorted on X.

Swiggy and Zomato did not respond to requests for comment.

"Minister @PiyushGoyal should not belittle our startups but ask himself what has he done as our Minister to help deep tech start ups grow in India?," Mohandas Pai, chairman at venture fund Aarin Capital, wrote on X.

Indian startups raised $11.3 billion in venture capital funding in 2024, up 43% from last year.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Edwina Gibbs)

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Corrects to say e-grocery, not e-retail, in headline and paragraph 1

March 27 (Reuters) - India's quick commerce sector accounted for over two-thirds of all e-grocery orders last year, with its total market share growing about five times to $6-7 billion from 2022, a report by consultancy firm Bain and e-commerce giant Flipkart showed.

The industry, which is dominated by the likes of Zomato-owned ZOMT.NS Blinkit, also accounted for a tenth of overall e-retail dollars spent in 2024, according to the report released on Wednesday.

These platforms deliver groceries to electronics within minutes, and its market share is expected to grow over 40% annually till 2030, driven by expansion across new categories, geographies and consumer segments, according to the report.

"The dramatic rise of quick commerce (i.e., delivery in less than 30 minutes) has been one of the most defining hallmarks of India's e-retail market over the last two years," according to the report, which stated that the sector had over 20 million annual online shoppers and employed over 400,000 people.

However, these platforms could face some immediate challenges in expanding profitability, as they may struggle to grow into markets beyond large cities and also face stiff competition from larger e-commerce players including Flipkart.

To sustain profitable growth, "companies must adapt their business models for markets beyond major metros, manage rising competition, and optimize supply chains", it said.

The report comes at a time when players such as Flipkart Minutes, Myntra's M-now, BigBasket's BB Now, and Amazon's Tez have forayed into the sector with their respective quick commerce platforms.

However, some industry experts expect this boom to be short lived.

Last month, a Blume Ventures' report said that the sector may struggle to maintain its current pace of growth.

TVS Capital Funds Chairman Gopal Srinivasan told Reuters in an interview that the quick-commerce frenzy is a "passing fad" and unsustainable in the long run.

(Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

(([email protected];))

** Eternal (earlier Zomato) ZOMT.NS falls 2.6%; Swiggy SWIG.NS down 1.5% after BofA rating cuts on the food delivery and quick commerce (QC) platforms

** BofA cuts ZOMT to "neutral" from "buy" and double-downgrades SWIG to "underperform" from "buy"

** BofA sees bigger QC losses in next 12-15 months due to higher discounts as competition rises; also expects pace of margin expansion to slow

** Says India's QC story narrative has quickly moved from "higher growth, improving unit economics" to "rising losses, highly competitive"

** ZOMT, SWIG shares down 26.5% and 38% in 2025 so far; benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI up 0.15%

** ZOMT to be included in Nifty 50 effective market close on March 27

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

March 20 (Reuters) - Zomato Ltd ZOMT.NS:

• ZOMATO - MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS APPROVES CHANGE IN NAME OF CO TO ETERNAL

Source text: ID:nNSE9KpcyT

Further company coverage: ZOMT.NS

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By Praveen Paramasivam

CHENNAI, March 14 (Reuters) - India's southern state of Tamil Nadu will offer a subsidy of 20,000 rupees ($230) to select gig workers to buy e-scooters, a minister said on Friday, as more young people sign up with online platforms to deliver food and groceries.

Gig workers, or those outside traditional employer-employee relationships, are set to play a key role in the world's fifth-biggest economy, spurred partly by high unemployment after COVID-19 pandemic curbs fuelled growth in the sector.

Tamil Nadu is also introducing an insurance scheme for nearly 150,000 gig workers to compensate for accidental deaths and disability, its finance minister, Thangam Thenarasu, said while unveiling the budget.

"A new scheme will be launched .... to provide a subsidy of 20,000 rupees each to 2,000 internet-based service workers to buy a new e-scooter," the minister said, adding that workers registered with a state welfare body would be eligible.

Further details of the scheme will be revealed later, Labour Secretary Veera Raghava Rao told Reuters.

The prices of electric scooter maker Ola's products start at 79,999 rupees, while those of rival Ather sell from 99,999 rupees.

The state will also set up lounges for the use of such workers in large cities, such as Chennai, its capital - where summer temperatures often exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees F) - and Coimbatore, a textile hub.

The head of the Tamil Nadu Food and Allied Products Delivery Workers Union, K.C. Gopikumar, welcomed the subsidy and welfare efforts but urged the government to extend them to more workers as well as give them better conditions, such as paid leave.

Swiggy and Zomato, two of India's biggest delivery providers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

($1=86.9080 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, March 6 (Reuters) - Indian consumer products distributors have filed an antitrust case against big fast-delivery businesses of Zomato, Swiggy and Zepto, calling for an investigation into alleged deep discounting practices, legal papers show.

India's e-commerce sector has faced intense scrutiny over how products are priced online. An antitrust investigation last year found Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart favour select sellers and resorted to "predatory pricing", which hurts smaller retailers. The companies have denied the allegations.

Quick commerce, in which companies deliver consumer products within 10 minutes from neighbourhood warehouses, is popular with customers but has upset smaller retailers as shoppers use apps to order everything from milk to pulses. Bernstein estimates India's quick commerce sector will reach $35 billion in 2030, from $200 million in 2021.

The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), in a case filing with the Competition Commission of India, has asked for an investigation into many business practices of Zomato's ZOMT.NS Blinkit, Swiggy's SWIG.NS instamart, and Zepto, including how discounts are doled out.

"An alarming trend of predatory pricing and deep discounting practices by Q-commerce platforms resulted in unfair pricing models," said the group's filing, which is not public but was reviewed by Reuters.

Zomato and Swiggy did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Zepto declined comment. The CCI did not respond.

The filing could increase headaches for Zomato and Swiggy. A separate CCI investigation last year found their food delivery businesses breached competition laws. The case is ongoing.

Zepto is preparing for an IPO after raising funds at a valuation of $5 billion last year.

The watchdog will review the case filing and can order its investigation unit to look at the matter closely. This can take several months and may require companies to explain their businesses. It can dismiss the case if it finds no merit in it.

AICPDF has 400,000 distributors as members, who supply products of brands such as Nestle NEST.NS, Unilever ULVR.L and Tata to 13 million retail shops across India.

A recent Datum Intelligence survey of 3,000 Indian quick commerce shoppers showed 36% had reduced shopping at supermarkets and 46% cut back purchases from small independent stores.

In its filing, AICPDF said local brick-and-mortar stores "cannot match" the quick commerce giants' discounts. It compared online and offline pricing of 25 products, including of Nestle and Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS.

A variant of a Nescafe coffee jar which a small independent Indian retailer receives from companies for about 622 rupees ($7.14) is offered for 514 rupees on Zepto, 577 rupees on Swiggy Instamart and 625 rupees on Blinkit, according to the filing.

Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is mimicking the strategy to offer fast deliveries, as are Amazon and Flipkart in limited areas.

Datum estimates Blinkit has a 40% market share in India's quick commerce market, with 1,007 small warehouses, while Zepto has more than 900 stores and a 29% market share. Swiggy's Instamart service holds a 26% share.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

((Email: [email protected]; X: @adityakalra;))

By Praveen Paramasivam and Juveria Tabassum

Feb 28 (Reuters) - India's BigBasket is planning to go public in the next 18 to 24 months, its CEO said, as the Tata Group-backed grocery giant seeks to tap surging demand for quick online deliveries of everything from fruits to Apple iPhones.

The company is on track to double its business year-on-year by March 2026 and expand to about 70 Indian cities from 35 currently over the next year, CEO Hari Menon told Reuters on the sidelines of a retail summit in Mumbai. He stopped short of detailing any investment plans.

BigBasket's plans for its listing in India come as the domestic quick commerce industry sees high double-digit sales growth, with rivals such as Swiggy's Instamart and Zomato's Blinkit racing to make the most of red-hot demand for 10-minute deliveries in urban metros.

Zomato ZOMT.NS and recently listed Swiggy SWIG.NS are also increasing their investments to ramp up offerings, open more warehouses and win market share, as the quick commerce industry defies a broader economic slowdown in the country.

"Assortment is the play, in my view," said Menon, whose firm is also expanding its range of products to include electronics, pharmaceuticals and fashion categories.

Quick commerce makes up about 80% of BigBasket's revenue, he said.

The grocery delivery firm, in which Tata Sons [RIC:RIC:TATAS.UL] has a majority stake, is also set to roll out quick food deliveries, Menon said without laying out a timeline, a move that will pit the company against other 10-minute food services such as Zomato's "Bistro", Swiggy's "Bolt" and Zepto's "Zepto Cafe".

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam and Juveria Tabassum in Mumbai, Writing by Ananta Agarwal; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

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Feb 25 (Reuters) - India's booming quick-commerce sector may struggle to maintain its current pace of growth as expansion beyond major cities remains limited and competition from larger e-commerce players intensifies, according to a report by Blume Ventures.

These companies deliver groceries to electronics within minutes and their market share has grown to $7.1 billion in fiscal year 2025 from just $300 million in 2022, the venture capital firm's Indus Valley 2025 report said.

India's "fastest growing industry segment ever", dominated by the likes of Zomato ZOMT.NS-owned Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy SWIG.NS Instamart, logged a 24-fold increase in gross order value (GOV) in the same period, it said.

However, the segment will soon see its monthly transacting user (MTU) growth tapering, much like the country's ride-share, food delivery and e-commerce sectors before, the report warned.

Moreover, the quick-commerce firms face stiff competition from large e-commerce platforms such as Walmart's WMT.N Flipkart, Amazon AMZN.O and Reliance RELI.NS, who are preparing to launch their own quick-commerce operations.

"… while it is not guaranteed they will be able to counter quick-commerce players, the increased competition will have some impact on the industry profit pool," the report said.

Additionally, the expanding sector will likely start to affect the local grocery ecosystem and attract regulatory measures to check its growth, the report said.

Earlier this month, TVS Capital Funds Chairman Gopal Srinivasan in an interview to Reuters said that India's quick-commerce frenzy is a "passing fad" and unsustainable in the long run.

Blume Ventures was one of the earliest backers of crisis-laden quick-commerce firm Dunzo, which is reportedly on the brink of shutdown after a spate of layoffs, founder exits and unpaid vendor dues.

(Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

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Feb 21 (Reuters) - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd BPCL.NS:

• NSE: BPCL AND BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES BEING EXCLUDED FROM NIFTY 50

• NSE: JIO FINANCIAL SERVICES AND ZOMATO BEING INCLUDED IN NIFTY 50

• NSE: CHANGES IN NIFTY 50 STOCKS SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE FROM MARCH 28

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: BPCL.NS

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Feb 6 (Reuters) - Zomato Ltd ZOMT.NS:

• CHANGE NAME FROM ZOMATO TO ETERNAL

• ETERNAL WILL COMPRISE FOUR MAJOR BUSINESSES (AS OF NOW) – ZOMATO, BLINKIT, DISTRICT, HYPERPURE

Source text: ID:nBSEg6Vx5

Further company coverage: ZOMT.NS

(([email protected];;))

Adds company statement in paragraph 6, details in paragraphs 7 to 11

Feb 5 (Reuters) - India's Swiggy SWIG.NS reported a wider quarterly loss on Wednesday, as the online platform poured money into its quick commerce business to compete with rivals Zomato ZOMT.NS and Zepto.

The company reported a consolidated loss of 7.99 billion rupees ($91.40 million) for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to a loss of 5.74 billion rupees a year earlier.

Companies such as Swiggy and Zomato are doubling down on quick commerce, aiming to deliver goods ranging from groceries o electronics in 10 minutes or less, by opening more warehouses or so-called "dark stores" to fulfil such orders.

Zomato, which owns Blinkit, plans to double its warehouse count to 2,000 by the end of 2025, while Swiggy has plans to close the financial year with twice as many fulfilment centers for its Instamart business from 523 a year ago.

Swiggy's quarterly expenses jumped about 32% to 48.98 billion rupees.

"Instamart growth ramp-up continues amidst significant investments to expand the (quick delivery) market," the company said in a press release.

The company added 96 new dark stores in the quarter, bringing its total to 705.

The rapid expansion in quick commerce and steady food delivery demand led to its revenue climbing about 31% to 39.93 billion rupees.

Food delivery revenue grew 24%, while quick commerce revenue more than doubled.

Instamart's gross order value - the total monetary value of orders including delivery and packaging charges - rose 88% on higher consumer spending and expansion into new cities.

Meanwhile, the gross order value in its food business grew about 3% sequentially, as per Reuters calculations, led by the launch of a 10-minute delivery service called Bolt, but the growth slowed from the 5.6% increase last quarter.

($1 = 87.4170 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam; Editing by Varun H K)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

Feb 4 (Reuters) - Zomato Ltd ZOMT.NS:

• ZOMATO LTD - RECEIVES FAVORABLE ORDER DROPPING GST DEMAND OF 59.1 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE2p684L

Further company coverage: ZOMT.NS

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The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Updates to add graphic.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India is retreating from a long-term goal to improve its finances. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration on Saturday proposed cuts to levies on personal income to shore up consumption which is growing at its slowest pace in four years. But the move drastically shrinks the taxpayer base and can go only so far in meeting its target.

New Delhi is giving up nearly $12 billion of revenue, or about 3% of its receipts for the year ending in March 2025 by raising the exemption threshold for taxpayers by 83% to 1.28 million rupees ($14,800) per year and reducing rates for people earning up to nearly twice that amount.

That offers relief to a swathe of the middle class whose wages are stagnating; it will halve the share of working-age Indians paying income tax to 1%, per Breakingviews calculations based on data from the government and the International Labour Organization. No wonder shares of carmaker Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS and food delivery firms Zomato ZOMT.NS and Swiggy SWIG.NS jumped 6% or more during the weekend special trading session.

But it takes India a step back on its journey to widening its tax base. The country’s income-tax to GDP ratio climbed to 6.6%, a 24-year high in the year ended March 2024 on the back of improved collection efficiencies. The U.S. ratio is in double digits, per World Bank data.

India could boost the spending power of a wider group of people and ease inflation if it slashes levies on fuel or cooking gas, but getting the country's 28 provinces to agree to lower revenue from fuel makes that a taller task.

For now, the government is relying on the Reserve Bank of India. Policymakers are pencilling in a higher dividend from the central bank to make up part of its revenue shortfall. They will also expect the RBI to deliver a rate cut to push discretionary spending, although the global trade war unleashed by Washington will make trimming borrowing costs harder.

The core issue of weak incomes is harder to solve. Real average monthly earnings of salaried and self-employed workers in the year ended March 2024 fell below the levels they were at six years ago, with the female self-employed cohort seeing the steepest drop of 32%, per the government's economic survey.

Modi's tax cuts will leave more money in people's pockets, but it's a short-term fix.

CONTEXT NEWS

India will propose cutting personal income tax rates to boost the spending power of the middle-class, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Feb. 1, as she announced the government's annual budget for the financial year to March 2026.

People earning up to 1.28 million rupees ($14,800) a year will not have to pay any taxes, raising the exemption threshold from $8,074. The top tax rate of 30% will apply to annual income above 2.4 million rupees against the current level of 1.5 million rupees. The measures would forego around $11.8 billion in tax revenue, Sitharaman said.

(Editing by Una Galani and Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/
[email protected]))

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Zomato Ltd ZOMT.NS:

• ZOMATO - CONSOL ADJUSTED EBITDA DECLINED Q/Q DUE TO ACCELERATED INVESTMENTS IN EXPANDING QUICK COMMERCE STORE NETWORK

Source text: ID:nNSE5DFcfZ

Further company coverage: ZOMT.NS

(([email protected];;))

NEW DELHI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - India's GST Council, chaired by the federal finance minister, may lower the tax on food delivery charges by e-commerce operators to 5% from 18%, CNBC-TV18 reported, citing sources.

The potential tax cut, which could take effect from Jan. 1, 2022, would not allow food delivery platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy to claim tax credits. This comes as India's tax department ordered Zomato to pay 8.04 billion rupees in taxes and fines for non-payment of certain taxes from 2019 to 2022.

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; EDiting by Tasim Zahid)

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Dec 12 (Reuters) - Zomato Ltd ZOMT.NS:

• RECEIVES GST DEMAND ORDER OF 4.02 BILLION RUPEES

• TAX INTEREST, PENALTY OF 4.02 BILLION RUPEES

• DEMAND ORDER HAS BEEN RECEIVED IN RESPECT OF NON- PAYMENT OF GST ON DELIVERY CHARGES

Source text: ID:nBSE8TtRQg

Further company coverage: ZOMT.NS

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Dec 3 (Reuters) - Indian food and grocery delivery firm Swiggy SWIG.NS reported a narrower quarterly loss on Tuesday as the newly listed company saw robust order growth in both its food delivery and quick commerce segments.

Swiggy, which made its trading debut on Nov. 13, reported a second-quarter consolidated loss of 6.26 billion rupees ($74 million) compared to a loss of 6.57 billion rupees.

($1 = 84.6520 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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Nov 25 (Reuters) - Zomato Ltd ZOMT.NS:

• LIQUIDATION OF ZOMATO INTERNET LLC

Source text: ID:nNSE9rFdFM

Further company coverage: ZOMT.NS

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Nov 22 (Reuters) - BSE Ltd BSEL.NS:

• BSE LTD - BSE SENSEX TO DROP JSW STEEL, ADD ZOMATO FROM DEC 23

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: BSEL.NS

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By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The CEO of Indian food delivery giant Zomato ZOMT.NS has stoked a public debate by advertising a chief of staff job with an unusual twist: there will be no salary initially and the position instead comes with a 2 million rupee ($23,700) "fee".

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal sought "down to earth" candidates in social media posts late on Wednesday, saying they must also have "Grade A communication skills" and be willing to help build Zomato, its quick delivery business Blinkit and other verticals.

But the job will have no salary in the first year and require the person to instead pay a $23,700 fee for what the CEO described as an "opportunity" with "10x more learnings than a 2-year degree from a top management school".

However, Goyal assured candidates that the chief of staff position will come with an annual salary of at least 5 million rupees ($60,000) from the second year if things work out.

The unusual call garnered both bouquets and brickbats on LinkedIn and X, with some business executives and users saying the move will provide a steep learning curve better than an MBA course, but others criticizing it for creating barriers for ambitious candidates who can't afford the "fee".

"Love the creativity, but it automatically excludes ambitious, hungry folks who don't have that kind of money (middle class)," Deepak Singh, who has previously worked at Walmart's Flipkart, wrote on LinkedIn.

Aparna Mittal, an expert on diversity and inclusion, wrote on the platform: "This looks like a case of the privileged creating *opportunities* for the privileged only."

However, tech programmer Arnav Gupta welcomed the unique job offer: "If you're looking for a career in management consulting/strategy, this is worth waaaay more".

Zomato did not respond to a request for comment on the reactions to his posts, which have garnered more than 5 million views.

Goyal is credited with building Zomato into India's biggest food delivery company which is fast expanding into quick commerce, a shopping rage where groceries are being delivered in 10 minutes. Zomato has seen its share price double this year, valuing the company at more than $28 billion.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Michael Perry)

((Email: [email protected]; X: @adityakalra;))

By Praveen Paramasivam

CHENNAI, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Indian food delivery major Zomato ZOMT.NS expects its key meal delivery business to grow at an annual rate of 30% over the next five years, a top executive said, hailing the listing of SoftBank-backed peer Swiggy SWIG.NS as a boost for the sector.

Apps delivering everything from grocery to food within minutes have expanded rapidly in the world's most populous country, turbocharged by demand from the affluent and middle class in its large cities.

"The food delivery sector is still in its nascent stages in the country and ... more competition will only foster innovation and growth which will benefit the sector overall," Rakesh Ranjan, Zomato's food delivery CEO, said on Monday.

Swiggy went public in November — more than three years after Zomato hit the bourses — fetching a valuation of $12.1 billion.

In food delivery, Zomato has 58% of the market, compared with Swiggy's 34% share.

Zomato's food delivery business accounts for about 58% of its topline with the gross order value — encompassing food price, platform fees and delivery charges — at 322.24 billion rupees ($3.82 billion) last fiscal year, marking an average annual growth of 30% over the last four years.

Ranjan expects the company to maintain that pace for the next four to five years, "if not more" as he eyes additional growth from the launch of new restaurants.

As of March, Zomato had roughly 247,000 average monthly active restaurant partners on its app, 18% higher than a year earlier.

Zomato has also been rolling out new features, including scheduled delivery, option to grab canceled orders at discounted prices, and a large order fleet that supplies food for gatherings of up to 50 people.

However, "phenomenally high" attrition among delivery drivers is a challenge for the company, which is offering more benefits and flexibility to onboard more gig workers.

($1 = 84.3490 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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Corrects in third paragraph to reflect Prosus’ remaining stake is 25% and worth $2.8 billion, not 24%. The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Nov 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Prosus PRX.AS is receiving a long-awaited parcel of returns in India with the Mumbai listing of Swiggy SWIG.NS. Shares of the company, one half of a food delivery duopoly, opened up 8% on Wednesday, a decent start. However, other bets in the country by the $100 billion Amsterdam-listed vehicle controlled by South Africa's Naspers NPNJn.J may be harder to monetise.

Swiggy had lured some $1.3 billion of funding from Prosus since 2017. It was the largest single outlay among investments worth $8 billion in the country; new CEO Fabricio Bloisi has re-affirmed India's status as one of the Dutch group's “global priority” markets alongside Brazil and Southeast Asia.

On paper, Prosus is doubling its money in Swiggy. It sold shares worth about $510 million in the initial public offering, and its remaining 25% stake in the company is worth $2.8 billion at the top end of the IPO price range. Shares of its only real rival, Zomato ZOMT.NS, surged 105% this year after the company turned profitable; secondary trading may be less impressive for Swiggy both because the company is loss-making and India's buoyant stock market is starting to correct.

Overall, India is proving hard work. In the year to March, Prosus wrote off its nearly 10% stake in education technology firm Byju's, once India’s most valuable startup. That company is battling bankruptcy proceedings at home and in the United States: Founder Byju Raveendran said last month he overestimated the growth potential of his education-technology company which is now "worth zero".

Timing has been an issue too. Prosus' other big portfolio company, the payments and lending firm PayU is emerging from a 15-month regulatory ban on enlisting new merchants. The Reserve Bank of India’s clampdown on unsecured credit over the past year has cooled growth in this hot corner of the financial market.

Elsewhere, competition looms. Prosus owns nearly 12% of Meesho, a profitable e-commerce marketplace for budget shoppers. It became the world’s fastest shopping app to cross 500 million cumulative downloads. There is a constant threat that deep-pocketed giants including Amazon AMZN.O, Walmart-backed WMT.N Flipkart and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries RELI.NS could intrude on its success. Bloisi will find some joy in Swiggy's debut, and he might want to savour it.

Follow @ShritamaBose on X

CONTEXT NEWS

Shares of Swiggy debuted in Mumbai on Nov. 13. Dutch investor Prosus owns 24% of the Indian food delivery company following its initial public offering.

(Editing by Una Galani and Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/
[email protected]))

By Aditya Kalra and Arpan Chaturvedi

NEW DELHI, Nov 8 (Reuters) - An investigation by India's antitrust body found food delivery giants Zomato and SoftBank-backed Swiggy SWIG.NS breached competition laws, with their business practices favouring restaurant chains listed on their platforms, documents show.

Zomato ZOMT.NS entered into "exclusivity contracts" with partners in return for lower commissions, while Swiggy guaranteed business growth to certain players if they listed exclusively on its platform, according to non-public documents prepared by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Exclusivity arrangements between Swiggy, Zomato and their respective restaurant partners "prevent the market from becoming more competitive," the CCI's investigation arm noted in its findings reviewed by Reuters on Friday.

The CCI documents are not public, in line with its confidentiality rules, and were shared with Swiggy, Zomato and the complainant restaurant groups in March 2024. Their findings have not been previously reported.

Zomato declined to comment, while Swiggy and the CCI did not respond to Reuters queries.

The antitrust investigation against Swiggy and its top rival Zomato began in 2022 after a complaint by National Restaurant Association of India about the impact on food outlets due to anti-competitive practices of the platforms.

Food delivery giants Swiggy and Zomato have in recent years reshaped how Indians order food, as hundreds of thousands of outlets listed on their apps just when smartphone use, and online ordering, both grew rapidly.

Swiggy, which on Friday is closing bids for its $1.4 billion IPO - India's second biggest this year, and Zomato both in recent years also pushed restaurants to maintain a parity on prices, directly reducing competition in the market.

That practice affects restaurants as they cannot offer lower prices on other online platforms, the CCI documents stated.

The next, and final phase, of the CCI case is a decision by the CCI leadership which is still reviewing the investigation findings to decide on any penalty or order changes to Swiggy's and Zomato's business practices.

A final decision could take several weeks, and the companies still have the option of contesting the investigation findings with the CCI.

(Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

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